By making small and conscious choices, you can gradually change your behaviour and save energy at home. Here are 10 simple and smart energy saving tips for how you can reduce your consumption of electricity, heat and water.
10 smart energy saving tips
1. Save heat – avoid large furniture in front of the radiator
Consider where you place large furniture. If, for example, you place a sofa or bed in front of the radiator, you will not have any even distribution of heat in your home. Long and think curtains in front of the radiator should also be avoided.
2. Turn off all unnecessary lighting and switch to low-energy lamps
Replace your light bulbs with LEDs. Also, remember to turn off the light when you leave the room. Some people think that it takes more energy to turn on the lights than to leave them on. But that is not true, so turn off all unnecessary lighting.
3. Shower quickly and efficiently
If you reduce the shower time by 5 minutes, you can save as much as 60 litres of water.
Did you know that when former cross-country skier Gunde Svan was active as a professional athlete, he tried to save time by showering as fast as possible? His record time is 1 minute and 23 seconds. In that time frame he had time to undress, shower and wash his hair and get dressed again. Can you beat that?
4. Put the lid on the saucepan
Use the lid on the saucepan when cooking so it cooks faster, and you’ll save around 30 percent more energy. And did you know that a little water at the bottom of the pot is often enough, for example when you cook eggs, potatoes and vegetables. The food is steamed.
5. Fill your dishwasher
If you have a dishwasher in your home, try to avoid washing dishes by hand. Scrape off leftover food before washing instead of rinsing them off. Soak the dishes for a while and the scraps will come off much easier. Then use the shortest possible programme.
Scrape off leftover food from the plate instead of rinsing. Then always run with a full dishwasher. Avoid washing dishes by hand and rinsing the dishes under a running tap.
6. Fill the washing machine
It takes almost as much energy to wash a sweater as to wash a full machine, so try not to wash, if you cannot fill an entire machine. See our simple tricks on how you can be a little more environmentally friendly when you wash.
7. Defrost frozen food in the refrigerator instead of in the microwave
If you are going to thaw food from your freezer, let it thaw in the fridge instead of in the microwave oven. Also let the hot food cool before putting it in the fridge or freezing it.
8. Turn off the water when brushing your teeth
Many of us brush our teeth and shave while the tap is running. If you turn off the tap during the three minutes you brush your teeth, you save 36 litres of water. And since we all brush our teeth twice a day, that means 72 litres a day.
We all need to consider our drinking water and help reduce our water consumption.
9. Defrost the freezer at regular intervals
Defrost your freezer at regular intervals. It is also a good idea to hoover the back of the fridge and freezer – it reduces both energy consumption and the risk of fire.
10. Charge easily with a charging station
As long as the mobile charger remains in the socket, it draws power, even if the mobile is disconnected. It is also a fire risk. Arrange a charging station for all rechargeable toys, mobile phones and game consoles. Use a power bar with a switch and it’s easy to switch it off when it’s not in use. It’s not only energy efficient but flexible – and you always know where you have the charger.
Sources: sydvatten.se, energispartips.allmannyttan.se
